Gentex rallies on profit, sales improvements

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Gentex Corp. stock jumped as much as 10.7% to a fresh 52-week high Monday after the auto-parts maker posted an improved fourth-quarter profit thanks to increased demand for the company's higher margin, self-dimming mirrors.

Shares of the Zeeland, Mich.-based manufacturer
GNTX, +0.53%
surged $1.32 to close at $17.24, after moving as high as $17.62 earlier in the session.

Gentex posted a profit of $30.8 million, or 22 cents a share, up from $29.6 million, or 19 cents a share, a year ago. Sales rose 8% to $149.6 million, an increase that was paced by "a richer mix of mirror products," the company said.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had expected a profit of 18 cents a share on sales of $145.7 million.

Mirror shipments overall rose 5% despite the steep automotive production cuts that slammed the domestic automotive industry. Offshore shipments, boosted by European business, more than made up for a 4% decline in North America.

For the first quarter, Gentex said it expects to increase mirror shipments by about 5% to 10% from a year ago.

Citigroup analyst Jon Rogers called the outlook "uninspiring" and didn't see enough in the report to justify an upgrade from his current sell rating. "Slowing sales growth and pricing pressure hinder return to past margins and profit growth," he wrote in a note to clients.

Still, the mostly upbeat report stands out in a sector that has been reeling from the struggles at General Motors
GM, -0.28%
and Ford Motor Co.
F, -1.15%
A plunge in demand from the group's top U.S. customers has sent some of the biggest players, like Delphi Corp.
DPHIQ
into bankruptcy.

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